Alan Arkin and Jean-Claude Van Damme are among diverse stars appearing over weekend at Newport Beach Film Festival.

When Alan Arkin signed on to "In Security," he wanted to play only one role.

A motorcycle cop.

"He wanted the boots, helmet, glasses and leather jacket — he wanted to look good," said Evan Beamer, who co-directed the movie along with his older brother, Adam.

After the Beamers granted his wish and filming was underway, Arkin turned to them and said, "You realize this is completely ridiculous, right? There's no such thing as a 75-year-old motorcycle cop."

Adam recalled working with the senior Arkin for three or four hours, after which the assistant director called a wrap.

"Everyone was clapping and cheering and he says, 'Thank you, thank you, it's been a long and arduous shoot and this is the best damn crew I've worked with all day,'" he said.

"In Security" premiered at the Regency Lido Theatre on Friday and was attended by cast members Ethan Embry, Michael Gladis, Jim O'Heir and Adam and Alan Arkin, all of whom were at the Newport Beach Film Festival for the first time.

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The Los Angeles-based siblings directed their first feature film in 26 days on a limited budget.

"On such a small budget, we did a lot of stuff, so after a 12-hour day, we had to go move the generator or find a parking place for the vans," Adam recalled. He also accompanied Evan on a search for filming locations in Brea and Whittier.

According to Evan, Max Naylor, the festival's associate director of programming — and a fan of Clea DuVall, who appears in the film — invited the duo to submit their 90-minute venture.

"We were just so excited to be able to watch this with some people and hoped they laugh at the right places," Evan said, having previously only watched "In Security" with a 20-person audience.

Embry, who attended the screening with his son Cogeian, recalled agreeing to the project because his character Kevin was "real."

"He is sort of at a loss and doesn't know what to do with his life," he said. "What I liked about it is the play on words — the movie is about Kevin working in security, but he's also really insecure. He has an inability to take action; he's kind of a loser."

He described reading the script and instantly being pulled in by its charm. Embry, who quipped about earning "two dollars and 50 cents," recounted working with many crew members who had been found on Craigslist.